Free An Inconvenient Mistress by Caroline Kimberly Page B

Phillip continued quickly in the hopes he didn’t lose his courage, “is that you continue to help Dr. Sullivan during the day.”
    Big brown eyes narrowed suspiciously on him. “Why?”
    Phillip shrugged. “Frankly if Sully is fine having you underfoot, it saves me the worry of where you are and what you’re doing to my ship.”
    “Charming,” she muttered. “And in return for this gracious offer?”
    For a heartbeat Phillip forgot his reason for being here, mesmerized by her dark eyes. They were even darker than he’d first realized, and Phillip had the oddest sensation that he might be drowning.
    Kolton’s voice boomed from behind him, snapping Phillip back to the present. “Captain,” his quartermaster bellowed. “Crates are shifting in the hold.”
    Phillip shook off the feeling and managed to remember what he was asking. “I’ll be right down,” he called to Kolton.
    As the other man took himself off, Phillip tried to find the right words for his proposal. He caught the soft scent of her perfume and began losing his focus again. Unnerved by this unexpected reaction to her, he forgot his script entirely. Rather than flatter and charm her, as he’d intended, he blurted out, “Chess.”
    “Chess?” she repeated.
    He nodded. “I want...I want to play chess. With you.”
    “Cap,” Kolton called from the end of the corridor. “The hold?”
    “I’ll be right down,” he snapped again and directed the quartermaster to make his way to the hold. Turning back to his nemesis, he said, “So... What do you think?”
    He tried to smile but failed miserably when he realized the young woman was staring at his mouth. His lips actually tingled under her scrutiny. Unable to collect his thoughts, the awkward silence stretched between them.
    Finally, she nodded her assent.
    “We’ll discuss the details in my cabin.” He clapped his hands together, making Isabella start a bit. “Tonight,” he said awkwardly.
    He turned and bolted before he could change his mind.
    * * *
    Bella stared at Captain Ashford’s cabin door, mustering up the courage to knock. It had been a long, tense afternoon, ever since his awkward apology. The idea that the rakish captain had invited her to play chess seemed unbelievable. He was a pirate and a nobleman—which meant she didn’t trust him any farther than she could spit. He obviously had an ulterior motive.
    Bella asked herself at least a dozen times what the captain’s purpose in this visit could be, and she came up with the same answer each time.
    He meant to seduce her.
    Pacing restlessly along the corridor, Bella tried to think logically. There was no way Ashford was interested in her, she reminded herself. He was so beautiful and she was...was...
    Bella straightened her spine. She had no illusions about her looks. Her face was pleasant enough, she supposed, and her skin was excellent. She had the same high cheekbones, wide eyes and full lips that had blessed her sister’s lovely face. But where Lolly had been soft and sweetly rounded, Bella was all sharp angles. She had the right parts, yet still she managed to fall short.
    Stopping in front of the captain’s door, Bella took a deep breath. She raised her hand to knock...then sighed in disgust and resumed pacing.
    She mustn’t jump to foolish conclusions, she reasoned. Phillip Ashford had never showed the slightest interest in her as a woman. He himself had told her that she was scrawny. Knobby kneed. Shrewish.
    Yet there
were
moments when it seemed as though something between them smoldered—like a banked flame that threatened to flare to life under the right kindling. Drunk and covered in prison filth, he’d still been able to make her feel shivery all over—even when insulting her. It was one of the things about him that appealed to her. There would be no flummery or false pretense from Phillip Ashford. If he intended to proposition her, he’d do so directly. No, she amended, he was a pirate. He wouldn’t bother